Staff > Joseph Henchman
Joseph Henchman
Tax Counsel and Director of State Projects
henchman@taxfoundation.org
Joe Henchman is Tax Counsel and Director of State Projects, supervising the Tax Foundation's state policy and legal programs. He writes articles and reports on developments in tax policy and tax law, and provides analysis on tax issues to officials, activists, the media, and the general public. He also oversees the preparation of amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief filings in select cases relating to federal and state constitutional and statutory law. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, C-SPAN, Fortune, Barron's, State Tax Notes, and elsewhere.
Originally from San Diego County, he earned a bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in political transitions. He holds a law degree from George Washington University, where he was active in the Federalist Society, Lambda Law, and the student government. His characteristically unconventional but praised papers from law school include: "Talking Dogs and Due Process: Legal Rights for Nonhuman Sapients," "Good Lawyers Should Say Yes: A Case Study of Larry Flynt, Borat, and Mob Lawyers," and "Why the Quill Physical Presence Rule Shouldn't Go the Way of Personal Jurisdiction."
Before joining the Tax Foundation in 2005, he previously worked as press/policy aide to gubernatorial candidate and former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth in the historic 2003 California recall election, and has interned at the Office of the DC Attorney General and (as a 2004 Koch Summer Fellow) Citizens Against Government Waste. In 2007, he earned a certificate in International Legal Studies from the University of the Pacific-McGeorge School of Law, after attending a summer school program instructed by Justice Anthony Kennedy. In 2008, he completed the year-long Koch Associate market-based management program.
He is admitted to practice law in the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia.
(Click here to download high-resolution photo.)
Recent Media Appearances
- Video: Joseph Henchman on Punitive Taxes on Unpopular Groups (CNN), March 4, 2009
- Video: Joseph Henchman on State Budget Shortfalls (C-SPAN Washington Journal), December 28, 2008
- Video: Joseph Henchman on Transit Bailout (CNN), by Joseph Henchman, November 19, 2008
- Video: Joseph Henchman on Sales Tax Holidays (Fox Business News), August 20, 2008
Contributions
- Orange Grove: Cities overreach on hotel fees, by Joseph Henchman, November 10, 2009
- Remarks to the Tax Analysts Conference on the State Fiscal Crisis, by Joseph Henchman, October 30, 2009
- "Amazon Tax" Unconstitutional and Unwise, by Joseph Henchman and Justin Burrows, September 15, 2009
- "Amazon Tax" Unconstitutional and Unwise: Amazon.com, LLC v. New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, by Joseph Henchman, September 9, 2009
- Sales Tax Holidays: Politically Expedient but Poor Tax Policy, by Mark Robyn, Micah Cohen and Joseph Henchman, August 26, 2009
- Interview with Governing Magazine on Tax Cuts, by Joseph Henchman, August 19, 2009
- Past Sotomayor Opinions Not Encouraging for Opponents of State Tax Overreaching, by Travis Greaves and Joseph Henchman, July 14, 2009
- The Dam Bursts in the Beaver State: Oregon’s Wave of Tax Increases and New Spending, by Jack Mountjoy and Joseph Henchman, July 9, 2009
- Wind Power: Good Enough Not to Need Subsidies, by Joseph Henchman, July 1, 2009
- The Dangers of Privatizing Tax Collection: Priceline.com, Inc. v. City of Anaheim, by Joseph Henchman and Justin Burrows, June 25, 2009
- New Jersey’s Gubernatorial Race, Part I: Governor Corzine Proposes 10.75% Income Tax Rate , by Joseph Henchman, May 27, 2009
- New Jersey’s Gubernatorial Race, Part II: Governor Corzine’s Challengers Call for Lowering Tax Burdens , by Joseph Henchman, May 27, 2009
- Economic Incidence: Consumers May Not Remit Ohio’s Tax on Grocery Sales, But They Pay It, by Joseph Henchman, Maurice Thompson and Justin Burrows, May 26, 2009
- Economic Incidence: Consumers May Not Remit Ohio’s Tax on Grocery Sales, But They Pay It: Ohio Grocers Association v. Wilkins, by Joseph Henchman and Maurice Thompson, May 26, 2009
- A Golden Opportunity: California’s Budget Crisis Offers a Chance to Fix a Broken Tax System, by Joseph Henchman, May 18, 2009
- The Price of Paradise: Hawaii Becomes Fifth State to Adopt New Income Tax Brackets on High-Earners, by Joseph Henchman and Mark Robyn, May 12, 2009
- Remarks to the Shaftesbury Society Luncheon hosted by the John Locke Foundation, Raleigh, North Carolina, by Joseph Henchman, May 5, 2009
- From the House That Ruth Built to the House the IRS Built, by Travis Greaves and Joseph Henchman, April 6, 2009
- Opportunity for Tax Reform is Here: Will Obama Squander It?, by Joseph Henchman, April 3, 2009
- Proposed Tax on AIG Bonuses Raises Constitutional and Policy Concerns, by Joseph Henchman, March 27, 2009
- Testimony before Maryland Legislature on Tax Increase Supermajority Requirements, by Joseph Henchman, March 5, 2009
- Testimony before Maryland Legislature on the Streamlined Sales Tax Project, by Joseph Henchman, February 18, 2009
- State Budget Shortfalls Present a Tax Reform Opportunity, by Joseph Henchman, February 11, 2009
- Charging Taxpayers for Tax Collection Is a Tax: Weisblat v. City of San Diego, by Joseph Henchman and Travis Greaves, February 6, 2009
- Urging the California Court of Appeal to Rule that Charging Taxpayers for Tax Collection is a Tax: Weisblat v. City of San Diego, by Joseph Henchman and Adam Van Susteren, February 5, 2009
- Letter to the Oklahoma Tax Commission on Cigarette Taxes, by Joseph Henchman and Mark Robyn, January 27, 2009
- Funding S-CHIP with Federal Cigarette Tax Increase is Poor Tax Policy, by Joseph Henchman and Gerald Prante, January 15, 2009
- CBPP Report Confuses Two Issues; Ignores Budget Reform Opportunity, by Joseph Henchman, January 8, 2009
- Permitting Class Refund Actions Is Key to Effective Challenges of Illegal Taxes: Ardon v. City of Los Angeles, by Joseph Henchman and Travis Greaves, November 24, 2008
- Urging California Court of Appeal to Permit Class Refund Actions in Challenges of Illegal Local Taxes-- Ardon v. City of Los Angeles, by Joseph Henchman and Edward M. Teyssier, November 14, 2008
- Voters Will Consider Tax-Related Ballot Initiatives in 23 States, by Joseph Henchman, October 31, 2008
- Transit Agencies in Bind Due to SILO Deals and AIG Collapse, by Joseph Henchman, October 30, 2008
- North Dakota's Measure 2: How Would Rate Cuts Affect the Peace Garden State's Competitiveness?, by Joseph Henchman, October 17, 2008
- Would the Proposed Bailout Affect Local Property Tax Collections?, by Joseph Henchman, September 29, 2008
- Urging North Carolina Courts to Hold Lottery Is a Tax -- Heatherly v. State, by Joseph Henchman, Chris Atkins and Kevin W. Benedict, September 8, 2008
- CBPP Report Longs for a Poorer Country, by Joseph Henchman, August 27, 2008
- Tax Foundation Urges Texas Court to Avoid Sparking an Interstate Tax War, by Joseph Henchman and Paul Galindo, August 25, 2008
- Tax Study Commission Can Improve Business Cimate, by Joseph Henchman, August 19, 2008
- The Right Prescription for Mississippi, by Joseph Henchman, August 19, 2008
- Indiana Court Should Avoid Education Finance Mess: Bonner v. Daniels, by Joseph Henchman and Paul Galindo, August 18, 2008
- Urging Texas Court to Avoid Sparking an Interstate Tax War -- First American Title Ins. Co. v. Combs, by Joseph Henchman, August 12, 2008
- Urging Indiana Courts to Avoid Education Finance Mess -- Bonner v. Daniels, by Joseph Henchman, August 5, 2008
- Economic Growth Requires Bold Steps: Mississippi Should Consider Tax Reform Recommendations, by Joseph Henchman, July 18, 2008
- County and City Income Taxes Clustered in States with Poor Tax Climates, by Joseph Henchman, July 11, 2008
- Double Taxation of Hospital Services Pushes Patient Bills Up, by Joseph Henchman, July 1, 2008
- Testimony on H.R. 5267, the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2008, by Joseph Henchman, June 24, 2008
- Arizona's Special Interest Laundry List, by Josh Barro and Joseph Henchman, June 24, 2008
- Certainty and Uniformity: The Standards (Testimony Before Congress on H.R. 5267, the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2008), by Joseph Henchman, June 24, 2008
- Case Presents Opportunity to Ensure Uniform Application of Tax Code and Prevent Harm to Taxpayers, by Joseph Henchman and Matthew Reddington, April 28, 2008
- Urging a Stop to South Dakota's Discriminatory Insurance Taxes -- Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Kinsman, by Joseph Henchman, April 15, 2008
- States Should Avoid Sales Taxes on Nonprofit Hospital Purchases, by Joseph Henchman, April 11, 2008
- An Opportunity to Improve Mississippi's Tax Climate, by Joseph Henchman and Tonya Barr, April 3, 2008
- Supreme Court Backs Railroad, Throws Out Tax Assessment, by Joseph Henchman, March 1, 2008
- Pennsylvania Governor's Borrowing Proposals Short-Sighted (Testimony Before the Pennsylvania House Republican Policy Committee), by Joseph Henchman, February 27, 2008
- Protecting Taxpayers from Fragmented State-by-State Interpretations of the Federal Tax Code -- Centerior Energy Corp. v. Mikulski, by Joseph Henchman and Erik S. Jaffe, February 22, 2008
- Virginia Supreme Court Considers Taxpayer Protections in NVTA Tax Case, by Joseph Henchman, February 13, 2008
- States Target Cell Phones for a Stealth, Burdensome Tax, by Joseph Henchman, January 18, 2008
- Don't Assume the U.S. Supreme Court Accepts Economic Nexus, by Joseph Henchman, December 17, 2007
- Defending Competitive Neutrality Before the Supreme Court, by Joseph Henchman, November 30, 2007
- Why the Quill Physical Presence Rule Shouldn't Go the Way of Personal Jurisdiction, by Joseph Henchman, November 5, 2007
- Maryland's Wal-Mart Tax Likely to Hurt Wal-Mart's Workers, by Chris Atkins and Joseph Henchman, March 9, 2006
